Abruzzo
Trabocco rosa Fossacesia. Ph: Simone Spoltore
Abruzzo
From the shady pine forests and the splendid coasts along the Via Verde , to the scenic plain of Campo Imperatore, Abruzzo is turning pink.
The Abruzzo Region hosts the great start of the 106th Giro d'Italia from the suggestive Costa dei Trabocchi (Trabocchi Coast). On 26 January, the most iconic places in Abruzzo involved in the stages of the race were lit up with a splendid pink light, to celebrate the 100 days to go to the start of the Giro d'Italia.
The “Trabocchi” in Fossacesia and the “Aragonese Castle” in Ortona, for the 1st stage on May 6: Fossacesia Marina – Ortona – Costa dei Trabocchi
The “Castello della Monica” in Teramo and “L'Aquilone” in San Salvo, for the 2nd stage on 7 May: Teramo – San Salvo
“La Bagnante” (“The Bather”) in Vasto Marina, for the 3rd stage, on 8 May.
The sixteenth-century castle in L'Aquila for the 7th stage, on May 12, when the Giro will return to Abruzzo, in order to reach Campo Imperatore.
On May 6, the first stage, a time trial that will wind for 18,4 kilometers along the Costa dei Trabocchi cycle path. The Trabocchi are fascinating fishing machines, celebrated by d'Annunzio, identifying elements of the Abruzzo marine landscape, suspended between sky and sea, which offer very tasty dishes such as the "brodetto", using the daily catch and zero-kilometer products. The departure will be in Fossacesia, immersed in the rich Mediterranean vegetation, dotted with broom and sea fennel, with orange and olive groves that almost reach the sea.
The splendid Cistercian Basilica of San Giovanni in Venere (one of the most spectacular examples of Benedictine architecture preserved in Abruzzo) stands in an isolated position on a hill called the “Promontory of Venus”, dominating the gulf of the same name and a marvelous landscape which from the Maiella winds up to the Adriatic coast, made even more characteristic by the Trabocchi.
Along the Via Verde the race will arrive at the port of Ortona (Ch), a seafaring center of very ancient origins. The filming of the Ortona route will showcase the Aragonese Castle in all its majesty, built in 1452 in a spectacular position overlooking the sea, over which hovers the legend “della Ritorna", according to which, on stormy nights, it is possible to hear the laments of the beautiful princess who lived there.
At Porta Caldari, in Ortona, the first pink jersey will be awarded.
On May 7, the second stage for sprinters (204 kilometers) will show Teramo as a stage city protagonist, the "city between the two rivers", located in the evocative scenery of the Gran Sasso d'Italia chain and the Laga massif.
The race will start from Piazza Martiri della Libertà, in the historic center of Teramo, a few steps from the Castello Della Monica, in neo-Gothic style, on the small hill of San Venanzio, flanked by two secondary buildings that form a real village with a medieval feel, populated by sculptures and frescoes of knights, demons, medieval fountains, guardian lions. Through the green vineyards of the Teramo hills, in the Val Vibrata area, where the villages of Bellante, Nereto, Controguerra are and where the sight embraces the whole chain of the Apennines, from the Sibillini Mountains to the Gran Sasso d'Italia up to the Maiella, the stage will also touch the places symbol of Italian cycling and of the “Tirreno-Adriatica Race”, such as Colonnella, Tortoreto, Alba Adriatica.
The route will thus follow the coastline, with some inland excursions, including the path that leads to the medieval village of Silvi, which offers a unique panorama ranging from the peaks of the Gran Sasso d'Italia to the Conero promontory of the nearby Marche Region, up to the profile of the Tremiti Islands, then Chieti, one of the oldest cities in Italy, Ripa Teatina, the birthplace of Rocky Marciano, and up to the arrival at the splendid San Salvo, the last town on the Abruzzo coast on the border with the Molise Region.
On Monday 8 May the Giro d’Italia race will leave Vasto, a splendid town overlooking the so-called “Golfo d’Oro” (“Golden Gulf"), along the Costa dei Trabocchi, of very ancient origins, which houses the vestiges of three thousand years of civilization, as evidenced by towers, fortifications, churches and palaces. The wide gulf of the beach of Vasto is embellished by an original monument dedicated to bathers which stands imposingly and elegantly on a rock, characterizing this splendid strip of the Abruzzo coast.
On 12 May will take place the seventh stage, leading to the Gran Sasso d'Italia and Campo Imperatore, with the finish line above two thousand meters and the Roccaraso climb followed by the long descent to Sulmona and Popoli. After Bussi sul Tirino, the cyclists will face the ascent of Calascio, where the Rocca of the same name stands: one of the most beautiful fortresses in the world according to the prestigious international magazine National Geographic and "set par excellence" of the film industry.
The last 7 kilometers climb steeply, when the route exceeds 2000 m towards the immense plain of Campo Imperatore, the small “Tibet of Abruzzo” that evokes infinite suggestions, set of commercials, music videos and many splendid films, from "The desert of Tartars" to "The Name of the Rose", from "King David" to "Così è la vita" (“That’s Life”) by Aldo, Giovanni e Giacomo, to the whole series of "Trinità" with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill.
Its endless pastures have been used since time immemorial for the summer grazing of herds and flocks. The refreshment points are suggestive, where in the typical butchers-braceries, in addition to artisanal cured meats, high-altitude cheeses and homemade bread, also “arrosticini” are cooked, a culinary expression of permanent and transhumant sheep farming.
Numerous plant species have been recorded, such as the Androsaceae, the small primroses of the high altitudes, the pulsatilla, the poppies, the wild orchids, the rare edelweiss, the perfumed and sought-after genepì, the silvestri scilla, the yellow gagee, hidden among the crocuses, thyme, clovers, anemones, gentians, valerians, the soft and woolly "lingue di cane” ((literally “dog's tongues"), the red Porous Saxifrages, the mountain violets which, small and dominating, create expanses of flowers, stretching for kilometers on the plateau.
In only forty minutes it is possible to reach L'Aquila, a magnificent city, where every year the Perdonanza Celestiniana (The Celestinian Forgiveness) is celebrated, Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, symbol of reconciliation, social cohesion and integration, established by Celestine V on the occasion of his papal coronation. It begins with the opening of the "holy door" of the Basilica of Collemaggio.
The Forte Spagnolo (“Spanish Fort”), a national monument, sober and imposing, which overlooks the city of L'Aquila from one of its highest sites, a very particular example of sixteenth-century military architecture, hosts the Mammut aquilano (“L'Aquila Mammut”), one of the most complete specimens existing, together with those exhibited in Paris, Leningrad and the USA, which is surely worth a visit.
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